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Clan Tuatha de Bhriain

Imbolc '98 Edition

Meeting Announcement

The Spring Equinox Meeting will be held at Comyn's house on Saturday, March 21stat 2:00pm sharp. Please inform Aonghus ASAP if you will not be attending or if you will be late.

Items on the meeting agenda so far include Pennsic, Clan funded project proposals (yurt) , and possibly a reading and discussion of clan laws and policy.

We are planning on getting pizzas to sustain the clan through the meeting, so please bring a few dollars to chip in.

Items of Note

Cate has settled on a persona name and henceforth shall be known as "Finnoula"

Larry also has settled on a persona name and henceforth shall be known as "Brogan"

Imbolc Event Highlights

In past newsletters summarizing events, it has been standard practice to site those members who put in that extra effort to make the event a success. This has become very difficult to do lately as the overall level of participation has increased dramatically. This practice becoming a thing of the past is a credit to all members. It seems now that there are only highlights to recount. These highlights did not make the event, that credit, as I said, belongs to all, these highlights merely provided something a little extra special.

The feast was magnificent. Falgon provided a wealth of finger foods. Valarian made some great pottage. Sabha provided a hearty barley dish, Guthrum and Finnoula made an exquisite squash soup, Aonghus supplied honeyed carrots. Brogan gave the clan a special treat with the rabbits and veggies he cooked. Volund prepared the main course of beef, roasted to perfection. A special thanks to Comyn and Sabha for supplying the freezer space.

Vollund, Brogan and Mainlia supplied the brew. Volund supplied a very tasty cherry ale. Mainlia's cider was enough to knock the mightiest warrior on his kilt. Brogan suplied some hearty ale and gets special mention for building and donating the awesome barrel "jockey box", which provided some great atmosphere.

A special nod to Erlan who provided some ingenious candle holders and table dressings.

The feast was followed by the first clan auction. The auction ran way long and dominated the majority of the event. Its overwhelming success took the clan by complete surprise and was a load of fun for the bidders and provided some needed equipment to the newer members and guests. The items for bid were a combination of donated and unclaimed items from the clan lost and found that Comyn maintains. Those people who got caught up in the moment and perhaps bought on an impulse stuff they might not use can comfort themselves by knowing that they have helped fill the clan coffers and can donate any unwanted items to next years auction. A special thank you to Comyn who presided over the auction till he lost his voice. A special thank you to Mordred of house Silveroake for taking over the guise of auctioneer from Comyn (that should give you some indication of how long it went on).

After Comyn regained his voice, the ceremony was held. Comyn gave a commanding performance as Druid. All present were given the opportunity to partake of the gifts of Brigit. A thank you to Valarian, our clan Bard, who assisted in the distribution of the "sheep's milk".

After the ceremony, Eberwolf rose and delivered an ancient poem which completely captivated all present. Eberwolf's passionate delivery was so compelling that others who had prepared poems and song were completely awed out of performing. I think next time Eberwolf will be the last act, as his talent proves to be quite the showstopper.

This event also saw the distribution of more clan coins. In addition to bronze, the clan issued its first silver coins. Though these coins were an improvement over the first minting, even further improvements are planned. Everyone was given the opportunity to buy some as they were rationed out and the clan sold out of all coins. Another minting is in the works to provide more coins for Bealtaine.

Clannsfolk should take advantage of the Message Board to communicate their opinions and ideas on these and other subjects with the clann..

AOL Message Board Imbolc 1998 News

From: Aonghus Feb 8, 1998

Wow
That was one hell of an Imbolc. Im still burnt out from it all and suffereing from sensory overload. I am way to tired to list my thanks individually to each and every one of you who all made this event one of the best... so I think for now I'll say: Great job Tuatha de Bhriain and thankyou Silver Oak for being part.

From: Connar Feb 8, 1998

To echo the sentiments of your beloved chieftan, WOW!!! On behalf of House Silver Oak, I can't begin to express our gratitude for the hospitality and awesome time shown to us. I am well aware of the phenomenal kindness you folks are capable of, and I extole those virtues as often as I can, yet nothing prepared Mordred and Rayn for the real thing. They were absolutely floored and wish to extend the most sincere thanks to EVERYONE! Mordred says participating in the auction was "pisser", and we're all so thrilled about the extreme tolerance you showed for the lovely Kia. Any and all of you have an open invitatiion to visit any time. I know that my humble words will in no way attest to the way they feel. Let me just say that they could do nothing but talk about how great of a time they all had the whole four and a half hour ride home, and then a half hour more while unloading! To me, the whole event felt like a circle was being completed. Most of you know full well that I consider you the coolest Celts in the universe, and seeing my new good friends get along so well with you was a very moving thing. I had no idea how much I missed all of you and think myself a fool for not coming back around sooner! I could think of a lot of reasons why this weekend was the best time we've had in a long time, but it can all be summed up in one, and that is you guys. Give yourselves a big pat on the back thanks so much for everything! You WILL see a lot more of us! Rayn, Mordred, and Connar

From: Guthrum Feb 11, 1998

That was the best indoor event we've had. The feast was supurb. The atmosphere was completely medieval. Everyone got into persona and stayed there. It was truely great. I think that the ceremony that Comyn did was incredible. I think that everyone watching could imagine that a real druid might act just that way. I think that the group as a whole is getting more serious about being historically accurate and still having fun doing it. I guess that isn't impossible after all. Guthrum

From: Larry Feb 11, 1998

TOO COOL!!!! I had the best time!!! Everything was great! The people, the food and of course the DRINK! I just wanted to say thanx to everyone for making this the best event Yet(I know I onley been to 3)! I felt very welcome and met some great people. ------ PS. I did some reserch on coin minting and hope to have a better way of making clan money. SEE YA, LAB

From: Mainlia Feb 25, 1998

I would like to thank the clan for a wonderful event. Things went well, I really enjoyed the auction, and the feast. Special thanks to Valarian for the excelent hand made shawls for the girls. I vote for a large clan gathering at Pennsic.

From: House Silveroak Feb 28, 1998

Greetings to all of Tuatha de Bhranian! I realize it's now long after the feast of Imbolc, but my wife and I have just recently entered the twentieth century (i.e.-bought a computer). As head of this household, I wish to add to the posting that Connar made on our behalf earlier. I speak for us all when I say that none of us had ever seen a ceremony conducted the way Comyn did. It was riveting. I have found that too often we claim to be medieval recreationists yet we don't practice any of the old traditions. It was refreshing to see that some still do. I wish to extend an open invitation to all Clan members to please attend the first annual House Silveroak Highland games! The tentative dates are for the last weekend in june- 6/26-6/28/98. Nothing is set in stone yet, so let me know if the dates clash with any Clan events. It's the wkend after Norseland's summer thyng, so that they should be able to attend. A rough listing of events and directions will be posted later as they become more clear. It will include much festivity, I assure you all. In closing, thank you all for making our introduction to your Clan both wonderful and memorable. Special thanks to Aongus for opening his home to us. Moran taing!, Mordred and Rayn Watson and Connar Tentbane

From: Valerian Mar 2, 1998

Greetings Everyone! Congratulations to Brogan for finally choosing a name. I am looking forward to reading the persona story. Thanks also and cheers to Brogan for his excellent work with the jockey box. Just wanted to drop a quick note to say "Hi" and to try to persuade everyone I can to attend Pennsic this year. I have been hearing about how good this particular event is for the past 5 years and I am finally going. It would be nice to have a strong representation there, especially since we are growing stronger as a clann. Please, even if you are only mildly interested now, try to go. To House Silveroake, welcome. It was good to have you there at Imbolc and I look forward to seeing you at future events. Thanks to Mordred to helping make the auction a very fun and memorable experience. I will try to attend the games in June. Sounds like fun.